


The Lakehouse

by thesecondcoming



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, F/M, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 20:00:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7067974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesecondcoming/pseuds/thesecondcoming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They had only been kids the last time he had seen her, but she certainly wasn't a kid now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Long Hot Summer

He had arrived at the lake house late the night before, having confirmed at least fifteen times that his Dad and Ulani were definitely gone and he and his friends had the place to themselves. As boys go there was a lot of whooping and hollering as Ben pulled up to the rambling old house and Chris, Mark and Andy scrambled out of the car, grabbing bags and shot- gunning rooms. Ben was a little nervous as he checked the car was locked – twice.

He hadn't been to the lake house since middle school, and this trip was all Mark’s idea. Having heard Ben mention it once in passing, he had been hounding him ever since to have a boys trip, which he made sure to outline meant all bro-time all the time, _until_ he found a cute girl and made what he called “full use” of the cabin. If Ben was being perfectly honest, he thought Mark was a bit of a dick, but when Chris had asked last semester if he wanted to move off campus with the group, he had jumped at the opportunity to leave dorm life behind.

Pushing the squeaky screen door open Ben was hit with the smell of his childhood, all must and cool shade and sunscreen and insect repellent. He had avoided the place since Ulani had taken a shine to it, and if he was honest…was pretty unsure if he wanted to be there at all. Andy had knocked over about eight items of furniture already and Ben could hear him marvelling loudly at the games room. When Ben was little it had been stocked with Jenga and puzzles and Lego. Now that his mom was out of the picture, his dad had created some sort of man cave Ben knew, complete with a jukebox and a pool table and a curved corner bar stocked with Scotch. Mark had disappeared to claim dibs on the master room and Chris had gone for an exploratory jog, though he had assured them his heart was already pumping with excitement.

Ben dumped his bags in the living room and tried to swallow the bitter feelings that arose when he saw Ulani’s redecorating. The pictures that had once lined the fireplace were gone and there was so much scary modern art staring at him from the walls that he felt dizzy. If he closed his eyes he could remember being chased by Stef into the cool of the house, the air loud with cicadas. They had come to the lake every summer and every year there were families that returned and friendships formed and if you were Henry…hearts broken. The house was hidden back in the forest, a short walk to the clear, long stretch of beach which came alive with water sports in the summertime. It was the perfect escape for so long, somewhere where Ben had felt safe – until it had become a bargaining asset in his parents’ divorce.

Chris returned just as the sun was setting and once they had established that Mark was taking a nap and definitely not going to help, he and Andy and Chris had done the supermarket shop to end all supermarket shops. Ben was unsure if it was even humanly possible to eat that much food, but watching Andy inhale three bags of marshmallows in the short car ride back made him revise that position quickly. They quickly cracked open the beers and as if by magic Mark appeared once Andy had the grill going. Ben was loathe admitting it, but as Chris described his dream vacation girl and they all teased and joked with each other over beers and hot dogs, he thought that maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea after all. Maybe this was just what he needed.


	2. Standing on the Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had only been kids the last time he had seen her, but she certainly wasn't a kid now.

Ben woke up to some pretty exuberant birds and groaned at the sunlight streaming into his room. Of course he had ended up in his childhood bedroom. The single bed had seemed comforting when he had stumbled into it after five…eight beers the night before, but now his mouth was dry and his tongue thick and he had fallen half off the tiny bed and was hot and cranky. He showered and his mood brightened, because he was here with his friends, two of whom he actually liked – and last night had been fun, the kind of bro-hang dudes time he was still not used to. It was summer and he was no longer a kid and they had two whole weeks of holiday bliss. A little swimming (with SPF 50 for Ben), a little water sports, a little catching up on Star Wars fanfiction, a little writing of Twin Peaks fanfiction, bro hangs, beer, and hopefully bonfires. 

Ben was whistling by the time he strolled into the kitchen, where Chris’s smile matched his own. Mark they knew would sleep until noon, so Chris wrote him a note and the gang headed down to the beach which was just starting to fill up with the usual crowd of holiday home guests and day-trippers. They scoped out a corner and Ben found some shade and he was engrossed in his new Sci-Fi novel in no time.

When his stomach rumbled loudly some time later he blinked out of his stupor, and looked around for his friends. Eventually his eyes focused on the pontoon floating in the middle of the lake, where he could make out Andy at least – attempting to climb on to a blow up swan…unsuccessfully. There were girls on the pontoon too Ben noted, with a sharp intake of breath. He might have been good with girls in another life, but when Ice Town happened… and then Cindy Miller happened, Ben’s confidence had never quite repaired itself. There had been girls in his first year of college, and even some hook-ups that had lasted a few months at least, but Ben never felt comfortable, never felt like he could be himself around them. 

He should swim out to the pontoon a voice in his head argued. Its summer, he needed to get over everything and just have fun. This was his vacation spot. He had swum out to that pontoon a hundred times, and regretted the sunburn every time he had fallen asleep on it. He had jumped off it and cried on it and once he had held hands with a girl on it. He could do this. 

Ben stood up and dropped the novel to his towel and at that moment the sun went behind a big bank of clouds and the beach went dark. Ben sighed and thought it all felt a little too ominous, and with a shrug he sat back down and with a frown reached for his novel. After he had read the same sentence eight times, Ben gave up and focussed back out the pontoon. He could make out Chris talking animatedly to a brunette girl, and there was Mark leaning back on his hands, surrounded by girls on the other side of the floating dock. His chest seemed tanned after only an hour, sunglasses on, legs swinging and feet splashing one of the girls whose hair was so blonde it seemed to glow in the water’s reflection. She wore a bright red bikini and as she laughed and squealed Ben felt a sense of déjà vu wash over him. He shook his head as if to clear it and stood up. He was grumpy and hot and hungover and if Mark could nap half the day, then he damn well could too. 

......................................................................................................................................................

He woke up when something heavy slammed into the couch, and without having to open his eyes he knew it was Andy. 

“Beeeeeeeeeeen!”. Andy hung over the couch, panting loudly. He was covered in sand and also seemed to be dripping wet. 

“Ben Ben Ben I met a girl! Ohhh Ben she’s so cool” he babbled loudly. “She’s like dark, but funny, but a bit strange” he continued as Ben fully woke up and turned his body around to face him. 

“You have to meet her Ben, oh man she’s so awesomesauce” he exclaimed and Ben could only grin at his excitement. Ben heard the bang of the screen door as it snapped back and seconds later Mark walked in with Chris in tow. 

“Dudeee” Mark greeted him as he strolled in, towel slung casually over his shoulder. 

“We met girls” he said smugly and Ben felt the peaceful feelings from his afternoon couch nap sliding away. 

Chris was next to update. 

“Ben we did indeed” he enthused. 

“We met some truly beautiful, not to mention interesting young ladies at the beach and they've invited us to a bonfire tonight” he said proudly as all three boys looked to Ben for a reaction. 

His chest sunk a little and his return smile was weak. 

“Great…yeah,” he said half-heartedly. “The bonfires here are…big. They are large fires”, he ended haltingly. 

Mark snickered and started talking crudely about the evening ahead, and they each moved off loudly to shower and get ready. Ben remained on the couch, his heart sinking. He had never been to the bonfires before, but as a kid he remembered following Henry and spying from behind the line of trees, his eyes wide as he saw couples making out and skinny dipping in the water, solo cups littering the sand and girls, so many girls in the shortest shorts – dancing and twirling in the light of the fire. 

“Your jaw is hanging open Benji”, said a girl’s voice, full of jealousy. 

Ben blinked and looked around, but the memory had faded as quickly as it had appeared. He made his way to the shower and washed off the day’s sunscreen and repellent. As he dressed, he gave himself a stern talking to. So what if he had missed making friends with these girls. So what if he was pale and scrawny and a former disgraced mayor. So what if after one day here everyone was coupled up. So what so what so what! He was finally going to go to a legendary lake bonfire, he was going to drink some beer, and he was going to talk to some girls, and by God he was going to have fun while he was at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read something horrible in the news, so writing a little fanfiction made me feel better


	3. One Crowded Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had only been kids the last time he had seen her, but she certainly wasn't a kid now.

It was the kind of night nostalgia is made from. Balmy with a light breeze and a hint of Alphaville singing ‘let’s dance in style let’s dance for a while’. Ben was the best kind of drunk, where everything is slightly swirly and tinged with colour, and people are beautiful and kind and you can find clarity in the moon and the stars. 

They had arrived just as the sun had started to sink west into the water, and they had spent an exorbitant amount of time building the fire pit into what Andy kept calling Mount Doom, which made Ben incredibly excited, until he realised that Andy was not talking about Lord of the Rings at all, and in fact none of their group had even seen Lord of the Rings - which was outrageous. 

People showed up in dribs and drabs, and as more beers and wine coolers were opened and it grew darker, groups began to mingle and blur. There were some older teenagers and college kids, and Ben thought he recognised a few faces from his childhood but he couldn’t be sure. Andy had found a guitar and they were positioned a few metres to the side of the fire when Mark quickly realised that guitar = girls and encouraged Andy to play louder as their group grew bigger. 

Ben was just at a pleasantly buzzed stage chatting to an engineering student from Chicago when Mark and Chris stood up abruptly – apparently their girls were here. Ben glanced over as Mark made a bee line for a tanned brunette, and he had to swallow a laugh as he watched the brunette deftly sidestep him and greet Chris with a warm hug. There were four girls that he could count, one of whom already had her tongue way down Andy’s throat without so much as a hello, and everyone seemed like they had known each other for years, rather than a few short hours. Before Ben could debate about whether to join them, he saw one of the girls loudly instructing two guys who carried a set of decks and enormous speakers between them down to the party. He watched enviously as they worked quickly to set up the turntables as everyone waited and spoke in hushed tones. The first notes rang out into the darkness and a heavy thumping beat followed that Ben could feel reverberate in his heart and in his toes. He heard Andy release a wolfish howl of joy, and just like that, the party started for real.

Minutes or maybe hours later, the engineer Ben had been talking to excused himself to get a new drink and never came back. Ben sighed and brushing the sand from his shorts made his way over to his friends who were part of a large group dancing by the bonfire.

“Beeeeeeeeeeeen” came Andy’s usual cry of greeting.

“Ben Ben Ben”, he panted dragging Ben over to a sullen looking girl who looked to be about sixteen.

“This”, he announced proudly, “is APRIL”.

Ben nodded a hello and the girl gave him a stare that felt so cold he suddenly felt nervous and sweaty. Good start.

He tried not to stand awkwardly as he watched Chris jump and flail enthusiastically to the music with the tall brunette. He caught Chris’ eye and watched as still dancing, Chris pulled her over to introduce him.

“Benjamin!” he enthused, as his hands waved in a circular motion above his head.

“Meet the glorious, fascinating and brainy, Ann Perkins” he finished with a flourish and jazz hands.

Ann looked touched at his words and faintly embarrassed as she said hello and smiled.

Ben was warmed at the idea that this girl clearly knew what was up; having side swiped Mark for Chris. Speaking of which…where was Mark?

“Where’s Mark?” he yelled over the music. He noticed Ann frown and glance around, as Chris confirmed his suspicions.

“Mark is entertaining the best friend of Ann, or at least he was…” he looked around confusedly. Ann now looked worried.

“I’m going to look for them” she yelled to the boys, before disappearing into the dark night and the black beach.

Ben was introduced to some other people, his favourite being the girl who had managed the entertainment earlier in the evening. Apparently her name was Donna, and she was quite a picture, having brought her own elaborate deck chair to the bonfire she was sipping a freshly made cocktail as a studly looking guy knelt next to her mixing what looked like a fresh batch of guacamole.

After a time Ann appeared again looking relieved. Mark was with her and from the unfocused eyes to the unsteady swaying Ben could tell he was totally wasted, and possibly stoned as well.

“Bennnnnssshh” Mark slurred, making his way over to him. He smelt like a brewery and Ben felt a wave of sympathy for Ann’s poor friend, wherever she was.

Mark slung an arm around Ben’s shoulder and his full weight caused Ben’s knee’s to buckle before he steadied him, and helped him to sit on the sand next to another group who were playing a drinking game involving spoons.

When he straightened and turned around she was in front of him.

It took him a minute to recognise her in the bright summer dress that was ruffling in the breeze. Her hair was bright, and in a blinding moment of recognition he realised the girl on the pontoon, the girl standing in front of him.

Her hair was as bright as it had been when they were kids. A sunny white blonde, with tousled curls that fell just past her shoulders and eyes that were a shade of blue he could never match. He tried to control his reaction before realising that she was staring past him, to Mark in the sand.

“Les?” He started shyly, still unsure. When she didn’t answer he felt himself blush deeply.

But it was her. He was so sure of it.

“Leslie” he said louder, and her eyes flicked up to his, confusion etching her features.

“Do I know-“ she started before screeching to a halt.

Ben saw her eyes widen and her mouth open in surprise.

“Benji?” she squealed and Ben blushed even deeper at his childhood name.

“Uh Ben” he corrected, and shifted on his feet.

Leslie moved quickly then and bounced up on her tip toes to throw her arms around his neck in a warm hug. It was quick, but Ben’s arms tightened around her for just a second, a natural response. They had only been kids the last time he had seen her, but she certainly wasn’t a kid now. She was all grown up, and pretty. She was small in his arms and warm, and he felt like every part of their bodies that connected was heated. 

“Ben!” she gabbed excitedly. “I can’t believe it, what are you doing here? I mean you’re at your house of course but wow it’s been so long and you look just the same- look at that hair, have you met Ann?!”

Ben was overwhelmed and hit by more nostalgia at her mile-a-minute babble. He remembered this, he remembered her. He didn’t have a chance to answer before she was dragging Ann over with Chris in tow.

“Ben this is Ann” she said seriously, “my very best friend in the whole world”.

Ben smiled and returned her sombre tone.

“This is Chris, he is my very best friend in the whole world,” and he laughed as Leslie glanced comically between Ann and Chris, her grin somehow growing even bigger. 

“Well this is just...,” she looked positively lost for words. 

“Ben Ben we have so much catching up to do” she said excitedly, “I want to know everything”. 

Ben felt at this stage that his smile was so wide he looked positively ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. It was of course at this moment that Mark chose to stage his revival, and as he stood up, the clumsy oaf stumbled and knocked hard into Ben, before shuffling forward towards Leslie who held out her small arms and with a dazed smile tried to steady him. 

Ben felt slightly sick as he watched Leslie wrap Mark’s arm around her shoulder. 

“Guys Mark needs to go home, he is so far past my chart I can’t even calculate how long before he can drive. Not that he needs to drive…” she trailed off and looked wistful and disappointed at once. 

“Chris why don’t we help Les take him back to your place” Ann suggested and Ben once again felt a wave of fondness towards this sensible girl who would hopefully deposit Mark and bring Leslie back with her to the beach. 

Chris took Mark’s other arm and Leslie and Ann bent their heads together for a moment. He saw Leslie nodding in agreement and noticed her eyes were also unfocused, a foggy blue.

“Chris…Ben, I think we’re actually going to call it a night” Ann said, her voice straining to be heard over the music. 

“Of course” Chris said jovially. “Let’s take Mark back, and then I would be simply delighted to walk you both home. 

Ann beamed and Leslie looked wistful again, but the hug she gave Ben was heartfelt and enthusiastic. 

“I’m sorry we can’t stay…I’m had a bit too much to drink myself and I-“

“It’s OK” he said quickly, his hand on her shoulder reassuring her. 

“We’ll catch up” he promised, and with Mark lumbering between Chris and Leslie’s tiny frame and Ann leading the way, they were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if anyone is reading this, but I'm having fun writing it :)


	4. Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had only been kids the last time he had seen her, but she certainly wasn't a kid now.

Between the beer and the appearance of Leslie, Ben’s sleep was restless, with dreams mixing her ten year old face with Mark’s leering one. When he woke he was sticky with sweat and his head was thumping. Without thinking he swung out of bed and pulled on his trunks, and within minutes he felt his brain release as he dove into the cool water of the lake. He stroked vigorously out to the pontoon and only when he was lying flat on his back, his breathing slowing, did he allow himself to think.

Leslie.

Leslie Knope he remembered. As if he could forget.

When they were kids there were families who returned to the lake each summer; the Feinstein’s, the Gergich’s, the Newport’s and others. The year he started Kindergarten the Wyatt's had come to the lake for the summer as usual, and Ben had been allowed one present for his impending first day of school. Ben had picked a complete Batman costume, despite Henry’s teasing and his mom’s insistence that he wouldn’t be able to actually wear it to school. He had been in that costume when they had met.

“Whooooooosh” Ben whispered, his face scrunched in concentration as he jumped off a fallen log into the sand, his cape flying out behind him.

He heard a giggle when he landed, and when he twisted around there was a small girl grinning from behind a bush. Her hair was white blonde and done up in two buns either side of her head and she wore a polka dot red one piece bathing suit with a frill around the bottom. Ben thought her eyes seemed too big for head.

“Sorry” the girl said brightly as she smiled and stepped out from behind the scrub.

“It’s hot today in Gotham City” she grinned and Ben stopped frowning and smiled back.

“I’ll be Robin” the girl said confidently, and just like that they were friends.

Ben smiled at the memory, at all the memories. From that moment on they had been glued at the hip. They played Batman and Star Wars and when it was Leslie’s turn to choose they played President or recited the Declaration of Independence. Usually they played on the beach, or at her house that was painted pale blue, the deck covered in brightly coloured plants. There was a sign on the front door that said ‘A fisherman lives here with the best catch of her life’ and it always made Ben smile. His house had a cool room for games but his parents were always cranky and they never remembered Leslie’s name. They would play in the sand for hours, both smothered in sunscreen from Leslie’s mom and Ben would stare wistfully when her dad, who was always smiling, would come over and pick Leslie up upside down and carry her squealing into the water. At the end of the first summer when they said goodbye, Ben remembered clinging to Leslie and whispering best friends and pinky promises as her station wagon drove away.

The summer after that before he could even put his bag down Henry was yelling that his girlfriend was here and there was Leslie at the door, a plate of cookies in hand, two inches taller. They were in another world all summer, up in Leslie’s treehouse with pirates and treasure, or floating in rubber rings close the shore pretending they were marooned. Each summer it was the same, and the two friends simply picked up where they had left off. Each year as their swimming improved they would dare each other to swim a little farther, a little closer to the pontoon. They would take naps together, and make up stories, and when Ben’s dad was being awful Leslie’s small hand would cover his own and she would tell him about the forefathers and Eleanor Roosevelt until he felt calm again.

Leslie was smart, far smarter than Ben, and she was always asking a million questions at once, her eyes bright, listening carefully. Ben thinks he may have kept the first note – or maybe he kept all of them. The notes started as hare-brained schemes that Leslie would think of in the middle of the night that she would slide through his window at 7am after she and her dad had been for their morning walk, because she didn’t need a lot of sleep. Ideas of how to make slime, how to build the ultimate moat, or the time she organised a clean-up day after a storm tore through the national park. Her notes were messy and were often accompanied by scatty drawings and Ben remembered the best feeling in the world being waking up and seeing a crumpled piece of paper pushed through the slats in his shutters. He remembered the swooping feeling in his stomach when he had arrived excitedly one summer and run straight over to Leslie’s house to hammer on the door, only to be greeted by a stranger. Leslie’s family had never returned, and no one could tell him why.

Ben’s memories were interrupted by a thump against the pontoon, and Ben sat up to watch Chris hoist himself out of the water.

“Morning” he said brightly, and he smiled widely at Ben.

“Hey Chris. Have you been running again?”

“I’m actually trying something new today. This one is called a ‘Run, Swim, Run’, but I thought I’d stop a second to say hello because it is simply a glorious morning!”

Ben squinted up and through the morning fog saw that Chris was right, it looked like it was shaping up to be a perfect day.

“Tell me about Leslie” Chris said enthusiastically, “I can’t believe you two knew each other as kids!”

Ben grimaced and looked down.

“Uh…yeah”, he muttered. “We were really young though…it was a long time ago”

“Nonsense” Chris smiled, tilting his face as the first sun appeared.

“That was no ordinary hug hello” Chris said jovially, before diving back into the still lake and racing back to the beach. Ben was smiling still as he lay back down on the pontoon, his eyes closed as it rocked gently and the sun warmed his face.

              .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Ben hung around the beach with Chris all morning until the clouds pulled together and an afternoon storm began brewing. Ben kept his eyes peeled but he saw no sign of Leslie, or any of the girls from their group the evening before. Andy and Mark, who had only just surfaced, were set up for a PlayStation tournament in the lounge when Chris and Ben ran in from the rain which had just started with a vengeance.

“I’m impressed” Ben said drily, gesturing to the bowls of snacks laid out in front of the TV.

Mark grimaced and ran his hand through his hair and tipped his beer in greeting.

“We’re suuuuper hungover” Andy moaned, “so we have to play video games” he continued looking guiltily at Ben.

“Suits me” Ben shrugged and flung himself on to the other lounge, all of sudden exhausted.

While Andy and Mark started a Super Mario Kart war, Ben dozed and Chris made a smoothie and rain lashed against the windows outside.

Ben’s ears pricked up as he processed some of Andy’s near constant babble, which was jumbled because he was seeing how many Cheetos he could toss in the air and catch with his mouth, while playing Nintendo with his other hand.

“Aprilsaidfive” he mumbled, chewing loudly as Mark threw more Cheetos in the air towards him.

“Sweet” Mark replied in a bored tone.

“Isst early?” Andy asked, his mouth growing near capacity, Cheeto dust spraying everywhere.

“Nah” Mark muttered, “everyone will show up later anyhow”.

Ben stirred and opened his eyes.

“What’s this now?” he asked casually

“Ohh schorryBen” Andy said quickly, Cheetos now overflowing from his mouth and over his shirt

He looked for a moment like he was going to choke, but he eventually chewed and caught his breathe, thumping his fist to his chest to clear it.

“Ben: We do forth request, if perchance thou might be…cool…abouteth a night heretofore the purpose of…fun” Andy finished haltingly and looked at Ben who looked confused.

“Party?” Andy blurted out and Ben sat up.

“We just thought it might be cool” Mark drawled, “to have a little gathering tomorrow night” he finished taking a swig of his beer.

“Uh…sure” Ben reasoned. “Why not?”

Andy cheered and dove for his phone to tell April that Ben had agreed and Chris immediately called Ann to relay the news and tell her to pass it on to her friends staying in the area.

The PlayStation war resumed as they paired up for a Resident Evil 2 showdown. As they jostled each other for the prime couch positions and stuffed themselves with Cheetos, Ben felt his anticipation for the next day growing. Whatever had or hadn’t happened with Mark, Leslie’s name wasn’t mentioned. April confirmed that Donna would be coming, and that this meant basically everyone staying at the lake or nearby would be there too.

Ben lay in bed that night and tried not let his brain run too far ahead of him. Leslie had made out with Mark he thought disappointingly, maybe more. Leslie liked Mark. But Leslie was _his_ friend, and they had history! She was so pretty…her eyes had been that shade of blue, her hair shining, the way she had felt when she wrapped her arms around him...the smile she had beamed at him. Ben shook his head and tried to quash his hopes a little, but that night his dreams were full of her, her little hand holding his, as a storm raged outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter = PARTY :) Sorry I move like a slow plodding mammoth with my writing


	5. Cheap Thrills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had only been kids the last time he had seen her, but she certainly wasn't a kid now.

The next day went by in a blur. The boys trudged to the grocery store and loaded up on party essentials. Somewhere in the aisles Andy found a grass skirt, and all of a sudden the chilled gathering became a luau party. The main idea this centered on apart from the grass skirt, was Andy’s insistence that Ben could make a real Mount Doom, since Ben had finally explained the context. So they loaded up on beer and burgers and leis and threw some high school science materials into the cart for good measure.

Ben was nervous getting ready. Chris and Andy both wore grass skirts and leis over their trunks and looked happily ridiculous but Ben flat out refused to put one on, as did Mark. His compromise was relinquishing his usual check shirt for one that had light flowers on it which he left open and paired with his summer shorts. He felt ridiculous, but the sun had come out just in time for the party and with his Ray-Ban’s on, a beer in one hand and BBQ tongs in the other – he felt pretty ready.

By the time the barbeque was hot the first few people started to arrive. Ben was so nervous about seeing Leslie that he totally forgot about his dad’s house. Every time he stepped in from the deck it seemed twenty more people had arrived, and the deck was filling fast too.

Slightly panicked, he turned to Mark who was chatting up a group of girls.

“Mark” he said quietly, trying to keep his cool.

When Mark didn’t turn around or indicate he had heard, Ben grabbed his hand and thrust the tongs into it

“You” he pointed at the barbeque.  “Watch it”.

There was a huge group of girls blocking the deck doors, and Ben was stressed as he ran his hand through his hair, messing up his earlier efforts to tame it. Where did all these girls come from? He pushed inside and his eyes bugged out at the sheer amount of people crowding the living room. There were leis covering bikini tops everywhere he looked and he could see Andy had started the building of Mount Doom in the kitchen, and apparently he had also found a coconut bra to complete his look.

“Andy” Ben yelled over the music

“Not. Inside” he yelled, realising he sounded like someone’s dad as people turned to stare.

Andy grinned and threw his him a double thumbs up.

“Ben look I have coconut boobs” He yelled, doing a wide shimmy in celebration.

Everywhere Ben looked there were hazards and breakables. Then he remembered upstairs and groaned, his head falling into his hands. His dad was going to kill him.

“Are you alright?” said a small voice from his left.  He peeked through his fingers and saw her blonde hair.

“Leslie” he squeaked, and blushed at the high pitch of his voice.

She was smiling and seemed to be one of the few people that had opted to wear clothes to the party. She still wore a lei but over a pale yellow dress and she had stuck a red flower behind her ear. Just like the evening at the bonfire, Ben was overcome with a million feelings.

“Hi” Ben said, desperately trying to think of what to say. He started to form a sentence when out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl step up on to the glass table to dance, drink in hand.

“No no noo not the table” Ben moaned, mostly to himself.

Leslie followed his eyes, and smiling she moved over to the girl and offered up her hand, and Ben watched relieved as the girl, still dancing, took Leslie’s hand and stepped down. He quickly rushed over and tried to pick up the table before realising it was far too heavy. Leslie grabbed the other side and together they hefted it up and waded through the crowd to the side of the house, where they put in down with relief in the laundry.

Leslie wrinkled her nose cutely, “What’s the point of a glass table?”

“Stepmom” Ben grunted and Leslie looked down quickly.

“Oh I’m so sorry…I didn’t realise your parents…-”

“It’s OK” Ben replied shortly as they stood awkwardly with the table between them.

“I didn’t know you were here” Ben offered

“There’s so many people” Leslie exclaimed and Ben grimaced. “I’m sorry I tried to get out to the deck to say hi to M-. I tried to say hi but I got swamped.

“Still small” Ben said wryly and Leslie shrugged.

They moved out of the laundry and back towards the house and Ben raked his eyes looking for potential crises and shut doors as they went.

“Do you need some help? You know…with the house armour?”

Ben smiled at her words. “Actually…that’d be great.”

 They hid all the glass items they could find, as blocked off as many doors as possible. When Ben moved to shut the door of the master bedroom Leslie stopped him.

“Is that a hot tub?” She gasped.

“erm…yeah” Ben replied

Before he could stop her she was in the room and pushing the sliding doors open onto the deck where the hot tub was, her mouth wide.

“Holy moly Ben this house is _not_ the way I remember it”. Ben laughed a little bitterly and nodded. “I mean, not that a private deck with a hot tub is a bad addition or anything” she continued.

When she turned around Ben saw her eyes catch Mark’s suitcase, which had basically exploded over one side of the room, the shirt he had worn to the bonfire lying crumpled on the floor.

“Oh” she said quietly.

“This is where-,“ “Mark’s been sleeping” Ben finished, his mouth tight. There was a moment of silence before Ben cleared his throat, and suggested they re-join the party.

Downstairs he got Leslie some punch and helped himself to a beer. He didn’t understand. When they were kids they had talked so easily, mostly over the top of one another. I guess a long time had passed, and it had been silly to think that he knew her, and that she was still the same.

 Ann and Chris came to join them and as they chatted (yelled) over the music, he noticed her eyes kept flitting to the deck, where Mark stood amongst his entourage of girls manning the barbeque. Ben felt embarrassed and angry as he watched her, and moodily went for another beer – choosing instead to hang out in the kitchen with Andy and his new favourite person April, who was scary but seemed to appreciate his mood.

Together they gave Andy safe tasks while they got the chemicals ready for Mount Doom, which was actually made of several gross vegetable bar “cakes” that Chris had made, stacked on top of one another - the middle hollowed out in preparation. Andy had made jello shots too and after three in a row, Ben started feeling much more festive, though he couldn’t help but track Leslie’s movements. When she finally made a beeline outside for Mark he shrugged and went for another jello shot – green being the least disgusting flavour. She could have Mark for all he cared, which he didn’t. No siree, he did not care at all. He didn’t watch the way they greeted each other or the way their heads bent close, his arm snaking around her back. He certainly didn’t watch the wide smile of her cackle as she threw her head back in laughter. He remembered that cackle.

                                          …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ben was small, his legs cramped from crouching down and hiding in the corner of Leslie’s backyard. He really needed to move but they were playing a trick on Leslie’s dad and Ben was nervous but her dad was nice and he would think it was funny…he hoped. He and Leslie had found an old kitchen sponge and covered it in melted chocolate and sprinkles. It was all Leslie’s idea, although she was sad about wasting the chocolate. Next they had left a note for her dad saying it was his afternoon tea and soon he was going to eat it and bite into a sponge!!! Ben giggled at the thought and that made Leslie start…only Leslie didn’t really giggle, she sort of cackled like a witch and it was loud.

 Her dad came out into the yard and settled into a lounge chair, carrying the special cake with him. Beside him Leslie’s shoulders were shaking and she snorted into Ben’s shoulder and the whole branch they were hiding behind shook, but her dad didn’t seem to notice. He rubbed his hands together and said “delicious” loudly as he eyed the cake, and when he lifted it high to his mouth Leslie let out her screech of a cackle and this made Ben snort with laughter as they lost their balance and fell out of the bush in a heap.  

                                    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

When it was properly dark and the house was full to bursting Andy decided it was time for Mount Doom. Someone paused the music while they parted the crowd carrying the tray on which rested a pyramid of vegetable cakes out to the deck.

Andy climbed a chair as someone from the crowd yelled out “CHIEF” and he held up a hand for silence as Ben tried to keep a straight face beside him. With the skirt and the coconuts and the crown April had made him from tinfoil, he did actually look like a demented Hawaiian chief.

“Ladies and gentle people” Andy boomed across the people who had crowded out onto the deck.

“We are gathered here for this summer Loo thing, and it’s all thanks to my friend and co-chief Ben here” he beamed and a few people clapped and whistled.

“This awesome party in his awesome house will go down in history, because tonight…we are going to set off MOUNT DOOM”.

The crowd went wild and Ben could only think that they were all as drunk as he was and that life was spectacular and wasn’t Andy the greatest.

Someone killed the lights and Ben knelt to light the orange powder that would cause the sparks and fizzles up the top of the cake volcano. From the corner of his eye he saw April pushing back through the crowd. He heard the start of the sizzle, like a sparkler and grinned. Andy was yelling something about the Hawaiian party Gods and then there was a noise so loud that Ben fell flat onto the deck, temporarily deaf. He peeked out from under the table when it seemed safe and saw the air was raining chunks of vegetable loaf. When the smoke cleared and there was no more flying vegtable a silence hung over the crowd.

“The Gods have spokennnnnnnnnnnnnnn” Andy roared and the crowd went wild. Someone hit play and the deck became a writhing dance floor that vibrated beneath his feet.

Ben didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he crawled out from under the table.

“BEEEEEEN” Andy cried. “Ben that was amazing!”

“I didn’t-“ Ben started, before April sidled up beside Andy, an evil grin fixed on her face.

“What did you do?” Ben gaped as the smell in the air registered. “Gunpowder???”

April smiled and pushed Andy against the railing and proceeded to make out with him with more tongue than Ben ever needed to see. Ben laughed and when he turned he was surrounded by girls.

“Great volcano” said one, “Totally” said another. “Do you really own this place?” came a third. Ben smiled, everything was blurry but this really was an awesome party.

He didn’t really know what was happening as the hours spun by. He was an awful dancer but he had danced. He was bad at flirting but he had flirted, and now he was wrapped around a girl with light brown curly hair. Karen? Kimberley? He wasn’t sure, but she giggled a lot and she had put his hand on her bikini top and everything was awesome.  
  
When he finally came up for air he saw Mark across the deck, and he too was plastered around some girl he’d never seen before. They were making out and groping at each other against the brick of the house. Ben’s inebriated mind was slow to register. She was brunette the girl, she had brown hair. She was not Leslie. Where was Leslie?

He told Kimberley/Karen he needed the bathroom, before lurching inside where the mayhem continued in near darkness. There were people making out and dancing, and someone had built a tower of beer cans on the kitchen counter and was preparing to bowl it down with more beer cans. He stumbled out to the front of the house, and seeing the line for the bathroom he dragged himself upstairs to use the one in the master bedroom.

Leslie was on the bed.

He blinked and tried to focus but it was definitely her. She was asleep, her tiny figure curled up in the middle of the giant bed, her yellow dress fanning out around her.

He pushed himself forward to sit on the bed, grabbing her hand.

“Lessie lessie lessie” he whispered tugging at her arm. “member the sponge cake?”

She stirred and he saw her eyes open

“Ben?” she said groggily, sitting up and wiping her eyes.

“What are you-?” “What are youuuuu” he cut her off giggling.

“You can’t fallsleep at the party of the centuryyyy Les” he said, and the room swam in and out of focus.

“I wasn’t- I was resting my eyes.”

She blushed deeply as Ben held her gaze. “I was waiting for someone”

Ben suddenly felt like cold water had been thrown at him.

“You were waitin fer Mark” he slurred sadly

“He…he asked me to meet him up here” she trailed off and looked down, checking her watch. “It’s 4.30am Ben!” and Ben shrugged.

“Where’s Mark?” she asked quietly and Ben wished he was sober. He might have known what to say.

“He’s downstairs” Ben said softly, not meeting Leslie’s gaze.

She looked sad, as she pushed herself off the bed, finding her shoes in the dim light. Ben still didn’t know what to do so he just followed her, out the door, down the stairs, into the room of yelling and singing and loud pounding music he trailed her tiny figure as she picked and pushed her way past bodies. When she stopped he walked straight into her and when he gained his balance and looked up he saw why. Mark was no longer against the wall, but was now planted in a chair, the same girl wrapped around him, his hands plastered to her ass as they ground together and excavated each other’s mouths with their tongues. He was so grossed out he didn’t register Leslie turning and darting back into the crowd, and when he looked down she was gone.

He stumbled back through the party and out the front door into the sticky night.

“Leslie?” he called into the darkness, but she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst: You know you love it

**Author's Note:**

> I'm only dabbling - forgive me for any mistakes and misspellings. Tell me if you like and fancy a lil' more


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